Dana-e-Raaz, the poet of the East: Allama Iqbal dedicated a special poem for the youth. This poem is called by Iqbal as ‘Ek Naujawan ke naam’ (To a Youth), and in this poem Muhammad Iqbal reveals a secret for the youth: the way to having strong resilience.
The treasured verse goes as:
نہ ہو نومید، نومیدی زوالِ علم و عرفان ہے
امیدِ مردِ مومن ہے، خدا کے رازدانوں میں
Don’t despair, as despair is a decline of knowledge and wisdom
Hope of Mard-e-Momin is among secrets of God
But what’s this knowledge and wisdom Iqbal talks about? And how has Hope become among the secrets of God?
Before diving into understanding the secret, let’s see what describes a Mard-e-Momin.
Who’s a Mard-e-Momin to Iqbal?
A Mard-e-Momin is a ‘Person of Faith’, the one who has strong faith in God. This faith is described as ‘the love of God’ that guides every action of a person, regardless of the harm life brings to them.
These are the ones Iqbal states as knowledgeable and wise.
More specifically, Mard-e-Momin is not a staunch religious person. Instead, they are truly God fearing and deeply understand the teachings of religion.
Therefore, a Mard-e-Momin is compassionate, patient, truth speaking, and works with strategy, learnt from the holy principles of religion.
What’s the secret Iqbal reveals?
The secret of resilience comes from life lessons of the greatest people in history. They had the knowledge and wisdom which is the very secret behind the remarkable resilience.
The ‘knowledge and wisdom’ poet refers to in the verse could be understood as two separate entities. Knowledge is the ability to distinguish the right from the wrong whereas Wisdom brings the power to a believer to choose the right over wrong.
Using the knowledge and wisdom a believer’s mind is brightened and creates an energy to follow the right path. This path is characterized by patience and hope.
It’s the belief that no matter how unjust the time gets, patience and a forward-looking approach will make a way out. The test of life therefore can’t make despair ruin the dreams of one’s heart. The hope stays there, ever powerful, as a relentless spark.
The world doubts this approach, may even assume it foolishness, but the resilience of the Person of Faith is never compromised. Hence, Iqbal calls it as among the secrets of God; no ordinary human can understand the resilience of such a believer.
Does that mean you can’t get sad?
Being sad is not relevant to losing hope.
Instead, it’s a period of time when you take a break from positive thoughts and take-out the burden of your heart. It’s a situation where you express an enigma of love– the very suffering you take in the path you are destined for.
Allama Iqbal believed that sadness is a natural part of human existence.. It’s a necessary part of the journey that tests a believer for patience and self-discipline. And in this sadness, one might stray away from one’s will, but the hope stays there, correcting the course of the believer to a brighter way.
This is expressed in the famous poem “Sitaron se aage jahan aur bhi hain” [Translation]:
The year that passed, in memory still,
Has spoiled all the deals of my heart’s will,
But your hope’s light has been the ray,
That brings to life a brighter way.
Final Thoughts
Iqbal’s ideology of resilience stems from religious teachings. His poetry evokes the memory of great Muslim figures who sketched the personality of a true Mard-e-Momin.
It’s in the life lessons of these great leaders that Iqbal found the secret of resilience. They stood mountain in front of the hope-shattering oppressors and hence became an inspiration for the living who can now use the Secret to accomplish their goals.
